In a press conference on 4 April, Education Secretary Kevin Yeung announced that the 2022 Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE) will commence on 22 April and end on 14 May as scheduled.
According to the compressed timetable released earlier, around 60 percent of the candidates will sit examinations for all subjects they applied for within the first two weeks of the exam period. Practical exams of Physical Education and Music will take place in late May or early June as planned. The result release date remains to be 20 July.
According to the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA), starting 7 April, admission forms will be distributed to school candidates through their corresponding schools and mailed to private candidates by post.
With the Omicron variant being highly contagious, the HKEAA will implement the following precautionary measures:
- Before entering the examination venues on each examination day, candidates should check their body temperature, take the COVID-19 rapid antigen test, and complete the “Candidate’s Declaration on Health”.
- Candidates should record their negative test result by taking a photo of it next to their admission form. For random inspection purposes, photos must be retained throughout the entire exam period.
- Candidates with positive test result, COVID-19 symptoms, and fever will be denied entry to the examination venues.
School candidates will collect the rapid test kits from their own schools, and private candidates will be informed to collect them from the HKEAA San Po Kong Office or Tsuen Wan Assessment Centre in mid-April.
To ensure that candidates affected by the pandemic can sit their exams as scheduled, the HKEAA has announced a series of special examination arrangements:
Taking the exams at the Penny’s Bay Community Isolation Facility (PBCIF)
This arrangement will apply to candidates who are infected with COVID-19 or undergoing compulsory quarantine but wish to sit the exams.
Candidates falling into the two categories listed above and intending to sit their exams at the PBCIF should submit their applications to the HKEAA Public Examinations Information Centre (PEIC) (Phone: 3628 8860/ Email: qc@hkeaa.edu.hk).
To facilitate point-to-point pick-up arrangements for relevant candidates on the examination days, candidates should also contact the designated taxi service hotline (3693 4770) to specify their candidate identity and their intention to take the exams at the PBCIF in advance.
As for candidates tested positive for COVID-19 or identified as close-contacts on the examination days, they should contact the PEIC (Phone: 3628 8860) and the designated taxi service hotline (3693 4770) before 6.30am.
For those who feel sick or do not want to take their exams at the PBCIF, they can submit their applications for assessed subject results to the HKEAA.
Priority mandatory testing for Candidates under “Restriction-Testing Declaration”
Priority mandatory testing will be given to candidates who are living in a “restricted area” and will be taking the examinations on the following day. Candidates should present their admission form to the staff at the temporary specimen collection stations to prove their candidate identity.
Upon receiving permission to leave the “restricted area”, candidates should head to the examination venues as soon as possible. Those with difficulty to arrive on time should contact the PEIC (Phone: 3628 8860) for assistance.
Permission to enter the examination venues for candidates pending compulsory testing results
Candidates who are subject to compulsory testing under “Compulsory Testing Notice” but have not been notified of their test result can take their exams at normal examination centres, as long as their rapid test result is negative on the examination day.
(Cover photo: Natalie Mak)